400 headwords 4247726 Ibn Battuta fp indd 1

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DOMINOES
The Travels of 
Ibn Battuta
LEVEL ONE
400 HEADWORDS 
4247726 Ibn Battuta FP.indd 1
7/7/10 15:19:31
www.frenglish.ru

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Chapter 1 - The journey begins 
My uncle, Ibn Battuta, sat by the window of his house in 
Tangier. It was the hot time of the day and his eyes were 
half-open. I went into the room.
‘Uncle?’ I said quietly. He looked up at me suddenly.
‘Ah, Ahmed, it’s you again,’ he smiled. 
‘Yes, Uncle,’ I answered. ‘Can you tell me today about 
your journeys, please? I want to travel when I’m older, 
too,’ I said.
‘Is that right?’ he answered. Then he looked carefully at 
me. ‘How old are you now?’ He could remember things 
from long ago easily, but things from the day before not 
very well.
‘I’m eleven,’ I said.
‘Well, perhaps in four or five years you can begin 
to travel. But it’s not easy, you know. You can see 
wonderful towns and cities, meet interesting 
people, and do exciting things. But there are 
bad times, too. You can get ill, meet big, 
hungry animals, or lose all your money.’
‘No!’ I said. My eyes were big and open.
‘Yes, Ahmed,’ he answered. ‘But 
listen to my stories, and perhaps 
you too can learn to come home 
alive!’ he laughed. ‘Now, 
where shall I begin?’
I sat down, ready to 
listen to him. Every time 
my uncle told his stories 
they were different, 
new, and interesting.
1
uncle your 
father’s (or 
mother’s) brother
journey when 
you go far; to 
go far
travel to go; 
(plural noun) 
times when you 
go to different 
places